Question 992975:  I do not understand how this problem becomes a negative after changing the -24 to a positive:
 
b = -24 
- 
29  
 Found 2 solutions by  MathLover1, stanbon: Answer by MathLover1(20850)      (Show Source): 
You can  put this solution on YOUR website!  
When subtracting a   number from a   number, remember the words   and  . That is,   the   of the two numbers and   the   as you normally would, but at the end   the result by attaching a   .  
For example, to find  , you switch the order of these two numbers, giving you  , which equals  ; then   this result to get  . That’s why  .
 
 
so, if you have   and changing the   to a positive, (even I do not see why it need to be changed) then you will have   which means you are subtracting  (larger absolute value) from   (smaller absolute value); so, result is negative number  
 => 
 
 
 Answer by stanbon(75887)      (Show Source): 
You can  put this solution on YOUR website! b = -24 
- 
29
 
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(b/29) = -24 
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Multiply both sides by 29 to get:: 
b = 29*(-24) 
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b = -696 
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Cheers, 
Stan H. 
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